CHAPTER 22: SPARKS, SANDWICHES, AND STARK REALIZATIONS
"When brilliance meets brilliance, the world tends to tremble. But sometimes, it just makes really good sandwiches."
☀️ Scene 1: The Arrival — and the Sandwiches
The Malibu sun shimmered across the ocean in lazy brilliance, casting molten gold across the waves and warming the glass façades of the clifftop homes. Wind rolled up the coast in a salty whisper, tugging at the blades of cliffside grass and wrapping itself around the angular shadow of the Elvaris Lamborghini Gallardo as it pulled into Stark's private driveway.
Velmir stepped out, calm and polished in a charcoal open-collared shirt and fitted navy slacks. His hair—sky-blue threaded with starlight silver—was caught in a soft half-knot that fluttered gently in the breeze. He paused, gaze on the horizon for a moment before adjusting his sunglasses and stepping toward the sleek front stair.
A voice rang out from above.
"Took you long enough!" Tony Stark's voice carried from the second-story balcony. "I was about to send a drone to drag you in."
Velmir looked up and shaded his eyes.
"I was admiring the view," he called back. "Also, I didn't want to run over your fireproof lawn."
Tony appeared at the edge, barefoot in an old AC/DC shirt, holding a grilled cheese sandwich in one hand and a fluorescent energy drink in the other. "I'll forgive you. Just this once. You hungry?"
Velmir tilted his head. "I could be persuaded."
"Perfect. I made extras. The bread's mostly intact."
Velmir raised a brow. "By 'made,' do you mean burned?"
Tony grinned. "It's called texture. Come on in."
🛋️ Scene 2: Inside the Lion's Den
The Stark mansion's interior was a sleek chaos of ideas—half-built prototypes scattered across tables, music from two different speakers clashing midair, and a robotic arm juggling a wrench like it had something to prove.
Velmir stepped in with polite amusement. "You've really leaned into the chaotic innovator aesthetic."
Tony flopped onto the couch and gestured lazily with his sandwich. "It's called 'organized genius.' I know where everything is. Mostly."
Velmir eyed a blinking console in the corner. "You know your security cameras are six seconds out of sync with the motion sensors?"
Tony paused mid-bite. "…You didn't even sit down before insulting my firewall?"
"It's a hobby."
"Great. Now I'm both outmatched and under-surveilled."
Velmir lowered into a chair opposite him, crossing one leg. "So, are we trading genius points, or do you just invite mysterious heirs over to critique your cooking?"
"Can't it be both?" Tony took another bite of his sandwich and waved a hand. "Seriously though, what is your deal? Blue hair, perfect posture, wealth from thin air… and apparently better security systems than SHIELD."
Velmir only smiled. "I'm the polite kind of suspicious."
🤖 Scene 3: AI Talk — Birth of an Idea
Tony gestured toward a nearby holoscreen where a prototype UI flickered—basic, command-based, functional.
"Been working on this," he said. "Trying to centralize everything in the house. Voice command stuff. Boring, but essential."
Velmir leaned forward, studying the lines of code scrolling across the screen.
"Does it speak?"
Tony made a face. "It repeats commands. Occasionally beeps. Kind of like a depressed toaster."
Velmir tapped the edge of the console. "Then it's missing something."
Tony raised a brow. "Like what?"
"Presence. It should feel like someone's there with you. Like… like it has opinions."
"You saying I need a back-talking house elf?"
"I'm saying you need an assistant who knows you. Anticipates you. Not just a servant, but a partner."
Tony frowned, thoughtful for the first time.
"Like… give it a name?"
Velmir's eyes lit with faint amusement. "Exactly. Something meaningful. Something familiar."
Tony tapped his fingers against the glass table, then said quietly, "My family's old butler. Jarvis."
Velmir nodded. "Then that's your voice."
Tony looked away for a moment, oddly quiet. "Yeah. Alright. Jarvis it is."
🔐 Scene 4: Friendly Critique
They made their way into the garage, where a car was suspended midair on magnetic lifts—its chassis gutted, circuitry exposed like an anatomy class in progress.
Velmir paused near the security panel, brow furrowing.
"This keypad could be bypassed with a heated wire and a hairdryer."
Tony groaned. "Again with the security flaws?"
"And that camera loop—Camera 4—it replays on a 10-second delay. An intruder could moonwalk through and you'd never know."
"I like pizza guys," Tony said flatly.
"So do thieves."
Tony threw his hands up. "Okay, okay, I'll fix it. You happy?"
"No," Velmir said, brushing invisible dust off a schematic. "But Viera will be."
"She terrifies me."
Velmir smirked. "She's supposed to."
🌅 Scene 5: Sunset and Silence
Later, they stood on the back balcony, drinks in hand. The sun bled orange across the Pacific, waves folding over themselves like time moving in slow rhythm.
Tony leaned on the railing, unusually subdued.
"You ever feel like the storm's coming?" he murmured. "Like the silence before something big?"
Velmir tilted his head, watching the horizon darken.
"All the time," he said softly. "But thunder isn't always a warning."
Tony glanced at him.
"Sometimes," Velmir continued, "it's just the world reminding you it's awake."
They fell quiet.
And somehow, it wasn't awkward.
🎁 Scene 6: A Friendly Trade
As Velmir turned to leave, Tony reached into a side drawer and pulled out a sleek black cube.
"Here," he said, tossing it.
Velmir caught it midair without looking.
"Prototype stabilizer," Tony explained. "Might be useless. Might explode. Either way, figured you'd get a kick out of it."
Velmir examined it for a beat. "You sure you want to give me Stark tech?"
"You'd just steal it eventually."
Velmir grinned. "Fair."
They clasped hands—firm, equal.
Tony gave him a lopsided smile. "You're alright, Elvaris. Creepy calm, freakishly smooth, and weird as hell… but alright."
Velmir smiled back. "Likewise, Stark. Next time, I'll bring sandwiches."
"You do that. And hey—when I finish naming my AI, come judge me."
"With pleasure."
✅ END OF CHAPTER 22: SPARKS, SANDWICHES, AND STARK REALIZATIONS
Sometimes brilliance just needs good bread and bad timing.